Getting Organized

There were a lot of problems with the way that the program was run last year, some were just rookie mistakes by myself, and others were due to a complete lack of organization on my part. (Which may also be another rookie mistake) This year I want to be much more on top of the organization of the team, and hopefully by doing so, we'll have a much smoother season.

Having said that, I have made up a list of things that are required of the boys, and the specific due dates that they are going to be required. Failing to complete these assignments will have various consequences from missing a game to running lines, and anything in between. The list is (in absolutely no particular order) as follows:

1. 1 Business ad and 1 Personal ad for the program (Due February 29, the Friday before our first game)

2. The athletic packet for the athletic directors office, or (this is new this year) information, either written or verbal (make sure I write it down) for which sport the player played for the high school during the off season for which the have already turned in a packet (Due before February 11th, if you can't get it to me, give it to the Athletics Secretary to put in my box)

3. The date that their parent will volunteer to either work, or pay someone else to work to cover BINGO (BINGO dates are provided on the Blog, as well as in the packet handed out to each student) (Due February 11)

4. What committee their parent would like to be a part of for our volleyball boosters (Due February 11)

5. A typed essay (100 words or more) about their thoughts and feelings about last season, including what I, as the coach, could help the team to improve on. (Due February 11)

6. A list of at least one phone # and one email address that we can use to get in ouch with
parents to keep them informed about the goings on of the team. (Due February 11)

7. An answer of whether or not their parents would like to host a team dinner (Due February 11)

In explanation of the above #'s:

1. Last year we were severely lacking in ads to put into the program, especially business ads, so to keep on top of that, if we have each player get one ad from a business, and one personal we can avoid this problem. Also it will help to get the players to earn some of the money for their season.

2. We cannot start practices until I have packets from each and every one of the players. Luckily for us this year, if the students played another sport for the high school in the off-season, their packet will carry over for volleyball as well. So, if they have played another sport I just need to get down what sport it was.

3. We had a lot of problems with Bingo last year, so we want to make sure that we have our nights covered

4. It seems like all too often, all of the work is done by only a few, I want to try to keep those few from getting burned out. Many hands make light work. This will also be a good way to get to know the other parents on the team.

5. I have thought about what I could have done better, and what I can do better this season since the last season ended, I have a million ideas, a few of which I have planned to implement this season, but it's always good to have a fresh perspective on it, and what better place to get it from than from the payers who we're doing this for anyways. The essays don't need to have names on them, and I will gather them on the first day of practice, and mix them up so I don't know who wrote what, so that I will not bias any furthe decisions on what is written. In doing this I hope it will help the boys to be completely honest with their opinions.

6. Another ting that I relearned last year with teenage boys is that things set home very rarely get there, so I want to get a list of emails, and phone numbers so that if something important is happening, the parents actually get to find out about it. I will still send copies home, but I will send an additional one to the email address to ensure proper delivery. As a side note, the blog will also have copies of all things sent home from either of the coaches.

7. Again this is just so that we can plan beforehand.